Monthly Archives: January 2015

To win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award (AMBR) at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) you must meet certain requirements, besides knowing the alphabet. The car must be a roadster (no hardtop), have no windows in the doors, younger than 1937 and not been entered into any previous public show.

Grand National Roadster Show

For the sixtieth year of the Grand National Roadster Show, which bills itself as the longest running indoor car show in the world, the judges selected a 1933 Ford roadster built by Bobby Alloway as the winner of the gargantuan trophy. Larry Olson from South Dakota owns the car. The Grand National Roadster Show originated in Oakland California, moved to LA and then settled in at Pomona.

America’s Most Beautful Roadster

This is the second time a Bobby Alloway built car won the award. To make this beauty low, Alloway touched all the panels and stretched the front end two inches. It was finished in black with a yellow “Ohio-style” flame job,The motor is a Hemi 241 with a set of Stromberg 97’s on top, but hiding an actual fuel injection system. A Tremec five speed is attached and links up to a Halibrand quick change rear end.

AMBR Contenders

There were eighteen contenders for the award this year and some showed some serious workmanship and were rightful contenders. Along with the contenders, the past year winner was present which we have seen before, as was the Detroit Riddler winner. Made for some impressive bragging rights in the building.

GNRS Awards

Besides the AMBR award there are a slew of other awards issued in various categories and on Saturday and Sunday the locals bring out some neat cars for a two-day outdoor car show. One building was dedicated to just the 1940 Ford, celebrating its 75th anniversary. In future blogs we will highlight the other contenders and some other awesome cars we saw. So be sure and subscribe to our blog.

What do you think of Alloway’s build?

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Gas Monkey Garage came out in force at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction this year. Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman, the stars of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud, brought out seven vehicles that they have been part of at their Dallas, TX garage, in some way.

We have been fans of their antics since the first season and profiled one of their cars that was sold at Barrett-Jackson before their garage became so well known.

Spoiler alert

One of the cars is so new it has not even been seen on the show yet. So proceed only if you want to see all of Gas Monkey’s vehicles that sold at auction.

Prices

The prices listed include a 10% buyer’s commission. So if the winning bid was for $35,000 the buyer actually shells out $38,500 to Barrett-Jackson, which is what we list. And Barrett-Jackson typically takes a similar cut from the seller, so from a winning bid of $35,000 the seller would net $31,500.

66 Volkswagen “Shorty”

This bus must have been left outside in the Texas rain and shrunk. Interesting twist on the usual VW bus and hard to miss. Richard bought it for $2K and intended on putting $7,500 more into it. Sue charged him $3K to install the kit alone, so suspect he invested way more than $7,500. This was the only Gas Monkey garage vehicle sold on Wednesday. It sold for $38,500.

69 Ford Truck

The shop truck with a definite tinge of patina sold solo on Thursday. This has definitely seen some wear and there are even some minor holes in the bed so we know it has been put to work. It sold for $42,900.

68 Chevy Impala

This is brand new to the TV viewers, since it hasn’t been aired yet. It did not even meet the print deadline to be in the humongous Barrett-Jackson catalog! Green with a black vinyl top. Equipped with a crate ZZ5 engine and a two speed Powerglide transmission. Ride Tech suspension and Wilwood brakes with nice Intro wheels. Rumor has it the winning bidder can return to Dallas and be in the show, since he bid $50,600.

68 Shelby Mustang Convertible.

This baby even came with an AM radio/eight track player. But Rawlings’ crew couldn’t locate an eight track to test it out. It’s been repainted Lime Gold and uses a 302 V8 and a three speed. Ironically the catalog fails to mention any connection to Gas Monkey Garage but it still sold for $106,700.

86 Porsche 930 Renspeed

This baby is Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins’ sale and is one of twelve built. The red color looks nice and there is only 9,000 miles on this baby. Nearly 30 years old and only 9,000 miles – go figure. It sold new for $168,000 and was last serviced in 2011. Dennis sold it for $165,000

64 Corvette

Another late entry that missed the catalog deadline. It is fuel injection with a 327 and a four speed and is a numbers matching car. It sports original Kelsey Hayes knock offs for a nice authentic look. The price went up to $77,000.

1971 Chevrolet Kingswood Station Wagon

This was used to help promote “Ugly Kid”. It has a crate 454 engine and a 400 automatic with a supercharger (hence the hood alteration). On the show Richard sold it for $42,000 but later took it back from Ugly Kid. Love the Cragars wheels and the “wood” trim but honestly it is showing some age but still sold for $36,300.

Finally we saved the best for last

76 Chevy C-10

This truck was donated to a local Dallas charity and Dennis Collins stepped up to the plate on TV and bought it for $85,000. Now he flipped it at Barrett-Jackson and sold it for only $45,100. It uses a LS7 engine for power and has a 4L85E automatic .

Many folks on Rawlings’ “interweb” question the build but it looks solid; but Dennis should have had somebody tweak the hood better. The alignment is terrible.Driver’s Side Hood Alignment

Passenger Side Hood Alignment

Now I’d be guessing that Richard didn’t have to pay the full 10% seller’s commission, but that’s between him and Craig Jackson. So do you think Richard flipped out okay on these cars?

Enjoy all the pictures of the cars and trucks from Gas Monkey Garage

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Here’s our recent story for eBay Motors on this nice resto-mod 1961 Corvette that was sold at Barrett-Jackson last week in Scottsdale, AZ. Two years ago we covered the sale of his Scooby Doo themed Mystery Van.

1961 Corvette

The builder started out with somebody else’s 1961 Corvette convertible and after removing the body ended up with this sweetie.

The resto-mod utilized a new LS3 engine from GM along with a new 4L70E four speed transmission. Nicely and tastefully done, this convertible screamed fun and power.

1961 Corvette Results

So with this rest-mod you end up with the classic styling of a 61 Corvette with all the modern touches and upgrades that make this fun to drive. The builder even installs power studs under the passenger wheel well to allow for a trickle charger to be discretely in place, if needed. The Corvette just screams that it is ready for whatever the road brings on.

Gas Monkey Garage is out in force at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction this year. Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman, the stars of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud, have brought out seven vehicles that they have been part of at their Dallas, TX garage.

We have been fans of their antics since the first season and profiled one of their cars that was sold at Barrett-Jackson before their garage became so well known. Their vehicles start selling on Wednesday so stay tuned and we can see how good a flipper they are.

Spoiler alert

One of the cars is so new it has not even been seen on the show yet. So proceed only if you want to see all of Gas Monkey’s vehicles that are up for auction. Remember most cars at Barrett-Jackson are sold at no reserve, meaning the highest bid price is the sold price!

66 Volkswagen “Shorty”

This bus must have been left outside in the Texas rain and shrunk. Interesting twist on the usual VW bus and hard to miss. This is the only Gas Monkey garage vehicle selling on Wednesday. Good luck Richard!

69 Ford Truck

The shop truck with a definite tinge of patina is selling solo on Thursday. This has definitely seen some wear and there are even some minor holes in the bed so we know it has been put to work.

68 Chevy Impala

This is new to the TV viewers, since it hasn’t been aired yet. It did not even meet the print deadline to be in the humongous Barrett-Jackson catalog! Green with a black vinyl top. Equipped with a crate ZZ5 engine and a two speed Powerglide transmission. Ride Tech suspension and Wilwood brakes with nice Intro wheels. Rumor has it the winning bidder can return to Dallas and be in the show.

68 Shelby Mustang Convertible.

This baby even came with an AM radio/eight track player. But Rawlings’ crew couldn’t locate an eight track to test it out. It’s been repainted Lime Gold and uses a 302 V8 and a three speed. Ironically the catalog fails to mention any connection to Gas Monkey Garage.

86 Porsche 930 Renspeed

This baby is Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins sale and is one of twelve built. The red color looks nice and there is only 9,000 miles on this baby. It sold new for $168,000 and was last serviced in 2011. Good luck Dennis with this sale.

64 Corvette

Another late entry that missed the catalog deadline. It is a fuelie (fuel injection) with a 327 and a four speed and is a numbers matching car. It sports original Kelsey Hayes knock offs for a nice authentic look. With the top down, will the price go up?

1971 Chevrolet Kingswood Station Wagon

This was used to help promote “Ugly Kid” and now hits the auction block on Sunday. It has a crate 454 engine and a 400 automatic with a supercharger (hence the hood alteration). Love the Cragars wheels and the “wood” trim but honestly it is showing some age.

Finally we saved the best for last

76 Chevy C-10

This truck was donated to a local Dallas charity and Dennis Collins stepped up to the plate on TV and bought it for $85,000. Now he is flipping it at Barrett-Jackson. It uses a LS7 engine for power and has a 4L85E automatic .

Many folks on Rawlings’ “interweb” question the build but it looks solid; but Dennis should have had somebody tweak the hood better. The alignment is terrible.Driver’s Side Hood Alignment

Passenger Side Hood Alignment

So how many cars do you remember seeing in the show? Which was your favorite and how much will the show truck go for? Will Dennis lose his (embroidered name) shirt?

Subscribe to this site and you can see how the flippers did at Barrett-Jackson.

Enjoy all the pictures of the cars and trucks from Gas Monkey Garage

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Arizona Concours D’Elegance Awards

Arizona Concours D’Elegance kicked off a busy week of car auctions today, Sunday January 11, 2015. This is the second year for the concours judging show and was held at the famed Arizona Biltmore. Fifty four awards were issued to the various entrant in a variety of classes.

Dawn Patrol

To best appreciate the cars it is best to show up before dawn and watch and hear the cars parade into the lawns surrounding the Biltmore’s rooms. One eventual winner even fired up his race car, with an auxiliary starter powered by three car batteries, to let the crowds enjoy those unique sounds. Hope the hotel’s guest enjoyed them too!

Four Favorites

With fifty-four awards being issued it is hard to single out just one, so here are four winners we especially enjoyed. Hope you do too.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Preservation Class – 1952 Oldsmobile

This 98 Holiday hardtop won a class award. And with only 29,105 original miles and 100% original everything why wouldn’t it? This beauty was a three owner survivor and due an award.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance – 37 Rolls Royce

At first glance one might think this was gaudy, until you stop and appreciate all the workmanship on this lovely lady. The Rolls Royce was originally a 37 and in 1947 rebodied by the then owner John Gaul. Afterwards it has been affectionately known as Gaul’s Copper Kettle and for good reason!. That is copper over steel body work and includes rattan lacework and copper burnishing. Absolutely breathtaking and countless hours were utilized to make this one off classic.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance -1949 Volkswagen

At first glance one might assume this was just another Volkswagen until you like at the rear end. That’s when you know something is up! This was a Hebmuller Cabriolet produced under license from Volkswagen. The exact number made and still in existence is hazy but this car is amazing. It won first in class for the avant garde category.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance – 1953 Corvette

Many know that only three hundred Corvettes were made in their first year; all the same exterior body and interior colors. This was #298 out of 300 and made on Christmas Eve, 1953. The current owner has owned it for four decades and it is a consistent award winner. Here it won a class award for Post War American Powered Sports Car.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Tour

After the rigors of the judging on Sunday there is now an inaugural tour for the registered cars available on Monday January 12, 2015 so expect to see some serious classic rides on the roads around Phoenix. Plus in the parking lot, valet naturally, we saw this Zagato Lamborghini that we previously reported on. Perhaps for sale?

So what do you think? In a future article we’ll cover some entrants that surprisingly didn’t win an award. So stay tuned.

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Gas Monkey Garage’s 1976 Chevy C-10 truck is selling at next week’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s green (of course) and was featured for two episodes of this season’s Fast N’ Loud “reality” TV show on Discovery Channel.

SEMA

We saw the truck in person for the first time at the 2014 SEMA Show where it was parked out front. It got lots of attention and interest from those who recognized it.

Gas Monkey Garage

It’s dropped suspension is courtesy of an Accuair Suspension. The folks at Gas Monkey Garage used a crate LS7 engine, which is the stock engine for a Corvette Z06. The used a 4L85E automatic transmission to get power to the Intro Wheels, plus a Currie 9″ rear end. It slows down with Wilwood brakes all around. Got to admit the boys at Gas Monkey Garage know the good name brand parts to throw on a truck or car.

Since it was built in Dallas, Texas it also has Vintage air conditioning.

Fast N’ Loud Episodes

You’ll remember the episodes this truck was on. They donated the truck for the high society Cattle Baron’s Ball which was held at the world famous Gilley’s bar. Rawlings figures some rich guy would pony up some serious cash for the truck, but forgot that most guys brought their wives which might have stifled the bidding. After bidding slowed down on this truck, Richard Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins (the guy who has his name embroidered on all his shirts) bought it for $85,000.

Collins is the guy who brought out the repaired Ferrari to Barrett-Jackson last year.

Barrett-Jackson

So now it goes on sale at Barrett-Jackson. Dennis Collins snagged a good spot on Saturday at about 1:30 PM so we’ll see if he does any better on this auction sale. And you can bet that the Gas Monkey Garage name will be mentioned often during the bidding. Remember that most of the Barrett-Jackson cars sold are no reserve meaning somebody is taking it home.

What do you think the truck will sale for?

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Arizona Concours D’Elegance kicks off a busy week of car auctions on Sunday January 11, 2015. This is the second year for the concours judging show and will be held at the famed Arizona Biltmore.

Arizona Auctions

No less than six companies come out to the Scottsdale, Arizona region for car auctions next week and include Barrett-Jackson along with Bonhams ,Gooding and Company, Russo and Steele, Silver and RM Auctions. Last year the inaugural Arizona Concours D’Elegance was held and is a great way to kick off this frantic week of car auctions. Plus the concours benefits a great charity, Make A Wish Arizona.

The Arizona Concours D’Elegance generally does not confirm which cars were accepted for the judging until the day of the event. But beautiful, historic classic cars will cover the grounds of the Arizona Biltmore. The emcee for the awards ceremony is our friend Keith Martin, who publishes Sports Car Market and is always present for the Arizona auctions.

Pierce Arrows

This year the committee selected four extra unique classes for cars to be entered in. They are the Pierce Arrows, the cars of Frank Lloyd Wright who is closely associated with the judging site – the Arizona Biltmore, competition Ferraris and the Carrozzeria Ghias.

We had a chance to check out these two Pierce Arrows at a local show and expect both to be on the judging fields next Sunday. The cars were in great shape and show the historic beginnings of the marquee. I was especially taken by the fuel gauge for the one Pierce Arrow being on the tank itself hidden behind the luggage. Hard for a driver to gauge his fuel economy on the fly!

Briefings

Along with Saturday’s festivities the Arizona Concours D’Elegance host two informative events on the preceding Saturday. There will be an auction preview, hosted by the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA), with representatives talking about their upcoming cars and trucks that will be auctioned off. Plus an Elegance at Speed panel discussion with Peter Brock, Nigel Bennett and Kip Wasenko is held immediately after the car auction preview.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Tour

After the rigors of the judging on Sunday there is a tour for the registered cars available on Monday January 12, 2015 so expect to see some serious classic rides on the roads around Phoenix.

Only 2,000 tickets are available for this luxurious event so don’t wait to check out their website and buy your tickets now.

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Porsche 918

During this morning’s Cars and Coffee show in Scottsdale, AZ a new Porsche 918 Spyder rolled in. The Spyder is Porsche’s second hybrid and trust me this is miles different from a Prius! This supercar is a mid engine plug in. The V8 engine produces 608 horses from the gasoline engine with the two electrical motors on the front and rear axles capable of generating another 278 horses, totaling 887 ponies at your command. This one is painted Sapphire Blue Metallic.

Stats on Porsche

Ironically the range under all electric is a meager 12 miles! But hey it tops out at 210 mph. It gets rated at 67 mpg equivalent when in electric mode and 22 mpg when powered by the gasoline engine. The added electrical torque makes for some jaw breaking acceleration. Those pipes on the rear deck are not for show. They are the true exhaust points and the short distance from the mid-engine allows for much lower exhaust back pressure.

Porsche is planning on producing only 918 units (get it 918 units for the 918 model?) all listed as the 2014 model year. Too late to orders yours, they sold out with a base price of $845,000. But hey you do get a federal energy tax credit for it.

Porsche Driving Modes

The 918 Spyder offers five different running modes: all electric or E-Drive, Three combination or hybrid and gasoline engine are also allowed Hybrid, Sport and Race. Hot Lap gives out the full power available from the Porsche.

What do you think of this hybrid, supercar?

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